Staff Debate: Best Position Players of 2011

The Inside Lacrosse staff is taking a look back at the season was in college lacrosse and debating some of the best and worst of 2011.

Here, Zach Babo, Terry Foy, John Jiloty and Geoff Shannon give their takes of the best position players of the season. Also, for a look at the season that was, check out the Dani Awards powered by STX. Danielle Bernstein makes her picks for the best of the women's season.

Attack

Zach Babo: Rob Pannell, and this was a great year for attackmen with Jeremy Boltus of Army, Steele Stanwick of Virginia, Scott Perri of Drexel, and Mark Matthews of Denver all having great years, but Pannell operated on his own level for much of the season, and even went down swinging, putting up a hat trick against the Cavaliers in Cornell's quarterfinal exit.

Geoff Shannon: Steele Stanwick, Virginia. Still love his mix of individual talent and leadership acumen. Posted 4.12 points per game, good for fourth in the nation. He struggled with injuries, but when the offense started to rotate through him the Cavaliers blossomed as a championship contender. Add 21 playoff points and the Tewaaraton and he’s my Attackman of the Year.

John Jiloty: Gotta go with Rob Pannell on this one. His 89 points was absurd. And the fact that he had more assists than goals makes him even more valuable to his Cornell team. Steele Stanwick was great down the stretch, but start to finish during the regular season, Pannell had a better year: topping 40 in goals and assists in a season puts him in company with guys like Matt Danowski and all three Powell brothers.

Terry Foy: Not an original pick, I know, but around the end of the regular season I had the revelation that Rob Pannell is what Chris Paul would look like if he played lacrosse, and I was never able to shake it. Chris Paul is, to me, the most valuable basketball player in the world when he’s playing well, and that’s why I have to go with Pannell. If that’s not a suitable reason, then consider that it’s the best way I could distinguish between Pannell, Virginia’s Steele Stanwick and Denver’s Mark Matthews, who I think were all deserving of enormous praise by the end of the season.

Midfield

Zach Babo: Was there a middie who scared more teams this year and affected games more that Brian Karalunas of Villanova? I know he is a LSM, but coaches talked about how you have to avoid him, he seemed to spark so much for Nova, and he was an actual takeway guy, which may be more rare than finding someone who still shoots free throws underhand.

Geoff Shannon: Kevin Crowley and the Seawolves stumbled when they had a chance to make another NCAA Tournament run. However, the Canadian posted tremendous numbers for a middie, finishing sixth in the nation in points per game (4.00). No midfielder was really close to his production.

John Jiloty: Brian Karalunas. I know there were some people that didn’t agree with Joel White earning Middie of the Year honors in 2010 since he’s a defender, but I don’t think any of this year’s first-team All-America middies was better impact-wise than Karalunas at Villanova. Karalunas, I think, was the NCAA’s first-ever 70-70 guy (caused turnovers, groundballs) this year, and his presence on a game was so dramatic.

Terry Foy: Kevin Crowley, Stony Brook. Not only because he put up the offensive numbers he did playing the way modern midfielders play (top of the box, going to the goal, catch-and-shoot), but because he played a lot of defense, too, and that’s what separates midfielders from attackmen. Though, don’t sneeze at the amount of D John Ranagan played, and he put up good offensive numbers especially when you consider how many other midfield options Hopkins utilized this year

Defense

Zach Babo: This was a tough one because it is really hard to judge who shut down other guys the best, and how much of that is a product of their individual play or the system. With that said, I split my vote between John Lade and Brett Schmidt. Lade was fantastic all year, until he tweaked his ankle against Duke, missed some time, and looked a little slow at points after the injury. When healthy, he is the best cover man in the country. Schmidt was a rock for Maryland, played in the ultra-athletic ACC, and completely erased Stanwick from the championship game (Stanwick's one assist finally came when they were actually able to run a screen and get Schmidt switched off Stanwick finally).

Geoff Shannon: Brian Karalunas, Villanova. More of a longstick midfielder, but you just can’t ignore 70 caused turnovers. Plus, he led Villanova to an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and won Lowe’s Senior CLASS honors. Great senior year for the Upstate product.

John Jiloty: John Lade. When’s the last time a transfer won a USILA player of the year award? Lade did it this year, and I think it was deserved. Can you imagine Karalunas (from the Syracuse area) and Lade (Villanova transfer) playing on the same defense? Either for Cuse or Nova? Lade turned in an excellent senior season on what was one of the NCAA’s best defenses.

Terry Foy: Brett Schmidt, Maryland. More than in recent years, this year’s crop of top defenders was wider and more well-rounded, meaning that the best players could play sound position defense, help off-ball and take the ball away when needed. Still, it was Schmidt that impressed me most in the games of his that I saw.

Goalie

Zach Babo: He may have had a little bit of a rough game against Denver to end the year, but Pierce Bassett stood on his head at points this year, and kept Hopkins in a lot of games. Look at how many close games the Jays either created or survived, and tell me that having a guy who was saving nearly 70% of the shots he saw at points this year didn't play a big factor in their success.

Geoff Shannon: Niko Amato, Maryland. Love a freshman who finishes the year fourth in the nation in GAA, 8th in save percentage and is one of the key factors that helped the Terps make it to Memorial Day. Wonderful year for frosh goalies in general, but Amato’s the leader of the pack.

John Jiloty: Niko Amato. Amato wound up fourth nationally with a 6.78 GAA and eight with a .583 save percentage, but it’s important to note that, in his first year as a starter, he topped 1,000 minutes, which really only Denver’s Jamie Faus also did among the Top 20 goalies in those two categories. So to me Amato was the best combination of good individual statistics and team success in getting to the NCAA Final.

Terry Foy: John Galloway, Syracuse. There were impressive individual performances, guys that finished the year with nice numbers and certainly the final four goalies — Adam Ghitelman, Jamie Faus, Niko Amato and Dan Wigrizer — were exemplary in leading their teams deep in the playoffs. Still, Galloway was the Goalie of the Year in my opinion. He made big stops, consistently made the stops he was supposed to, led his defense well and sparked the offense when he could. Syracuse is surely disappointed to have been knocked out in the quarterfinals, but that can’t totally be laid at the goalie’s feet.